Edit: This event took place in October 2020. You can find the recording here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me7E6KEGA3Y

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Latin America has been one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in the world. The past few decades have seen a massive migration. By 2050, 90% of Latin Americans will live in urban areas. Cities have been forced to find methods of sustainable growth that can accommodate this thriving population.

Global advancements in interconnectivity have changed the nature of informal communities and turned them into innovation hubs. Smart solutions are allowing cities to catch up to runaway population growth and close the infrastructure gap. 

Latin America’s robust SEZ programs have benefitted from these demographic changes. Increasing populations have created ideal conditions for SEZ and Charter City programs to emerge. The special jurisdiction space has shown impressive resilience throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and has remained a key economic engine in Latin America.

The virtual event will be a discussion that addresses the untapped potential in Latin American cities and explores the changing growth dynamics in the region. 

Speakers

Maria Camila Moreno

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Maria Camila Moreno is the Executive Director at Free Trade Zone Association of the Americas. Moreno has a bachelor’s degree in International Business Management from the University of Sabana (Colombia), and a masters degree in International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern (Switzerland). She plays a key role in creating regulatory frameworks and policies that help free trade zones attract more FDI. She is the co-author of “The transformation of China and its impact for Colombia”, 2013, and is an expert in supply chains and trade.

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Marco Andrade Brandao

Marco Andrade Brandao is the managing director at Utopia’s studio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Utopia is an urban innovation group that is creating a network of venture studios across Africa, Asia, and Latin America in order to build an urban ecosystem for emerging cities. The Rio Studio is testing out Utopia’s CITYLAB platform approach within the largest favela in Latin America, enabling its entrepreneurs to connect with global partners and opportunities. Marco is also the country manager for Brazil at Boma Global. Boma Global is a network of individuals and organizations that want to drive positive change and prepare the next generation’s leaders to overcome the challenges in their environments. 

This virtual event offers an opportunity to create an interesting first step to solving some of the ongoing developmental challenges facing cities and new developments around the world. Special jurisdictions have the potential to create a pathway to modernization and the ability to bring people to participate in the economy using new technology, innovation and better laws to build best practices for a way to help uplift and develop better communities and cities. The aim is to create a discussion that looks at the untapped potential in Latin American cities and explores the changing growth dynamics in the region.

Register via Eventbrite here and we will see you there!